


Dropping Masks

by Violettavonviolet



Series: Charades [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Acting, Boys In Love, Courting Rituals, Courtship, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, I feel like I should tag more but I have no idea what, Kinda, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki (Marvel) is a Good Bro, M/M, Masks, Press and Tabloids, Secret Admirer, Secret Relationship, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, courting Tony Stark, did i do this right, literally I have absolutely no cue what this is but o well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23821345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violettavonviolet/pseuds/Violettavonviolet
Summary: “Tony?“ Loki startled Tony a bit, he had nearly dozed off there.“You can drop the mask now.“So Tony did, all the tenseness of the last few months, years fled out of him as he melts against Lokis steady chest, finally free from the act he put himself under.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: Charades [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718986
Comments: 5
Kudos: 163





	Dropping Masks

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all I'm back again with a new fanfic!  
> Updates are probably going to be slower in the future as I am currently in another country!!! I know it's corona time but we had to like flee the country because of allergies, it wasn't fun but yeah Idk.  
> This thing is really spontaneous, and I didn't have much time to correct it but I hope its good! Its frost iron again because I love my boys too much.  
> I swear an update for the bingo will come in the future but yeah.
> 
> Also I have to do something else so if somebody wants to send me a prompt on Tumblr, im linking it below im open for suggestions. 
> 
> I'm literally only online shopping and drawing right now, even though I won't buy anything so my drawings are getting more ridiculous and yeah I don't know, I should stop rambling so, here it is; My new baby

The general consensus is, that Tony’s first armor was made in Afghanistan, but as it happens so often the general consensus is wrong.  
Tony’s first armor wasn’t something physical, it was a mask he put in place when he was barely able to reach the table. It happened at his very first interview.  
He had been a genius already, and he had quickly come to realize that none of the reporters were actually invested in him, they wanted to have a good story. So he put on a smile and presented the board he made and accepted the too hard squeeze in the shoulder he got at the photoshoot after. 

From there he expanded. The mask got more layers with age, got more intricate until it was like a second skin and even Tony himself sometimes struggled o keep the two personas apart.  
He gave the public what it demanded, he swaggered and smart assed his way through everything and sometimes he would cry himself to sleep after, sometimes his cheeks would hurt from all the smiling and he could barely look in the mirror, disgusted by what he had become. But that was okay because that wasn’t him, that was an act. Right? Right?

He lost himself sometimes, but with the help of his makeshift family he found himself again. It was sad really, the only ones to truly love Tony were his own creations that were programmed too, but in a way it was also philosophical. That was life and it would always be. 

After Afghanistan he let go of a few of the more outer layers of the mask, of the playboying and the partying and exchanged them with a few others, the heroic act, the borderline narcissistic one and he was so over all pleased when it came up in the report made by the spider that lost herself in her own webs long ago. He could sympathize with that, but he wouldn’t trust her. He had only done that mistake a few times and he sure as hell wouldn’t do it again after Obadiah. Besides, you couldn’t trust a spy to say the truth. It was almost funny how he cold read her but she didn’t recognize herself in him. They were so similar but so apart. His cheeks still hurt from smiling sometimes. 

He noticed Nick’s tricks, the carrot in front of his nose, just out of reach and he played along because that was what was expected from him. He had gone so log only trying to please he public and give everyone what he wanted he didn’t know himself anymore.  
But he didn’t think about it much, only when he was truly drunk and alone. 

Shield came back the minute they needed something, it was hilarious.  
So he flew to Stuttgart, cleared everything up, met two gods in a row, fought both of them and won.  
Of course they won.  
Of course the avengers worked together, that was what was expected of Tony and so he did. 

They did. 

It was fun, he could almost imagine a live with them until he realized that it really wasn’t.  
That was about when he was flying a nuke into space and realized that he would die. There was nothing to do about it, so he accepted and lay on the wire. 

It was almost amusing that only after he risked his life the Captain was ready to accept him as a person. At least the hulk was open. He liked that about him. He might only talk with two to three words at a time but at least eh was honest with what he wanted. 

Fury expected them to live together, so they did, they expected him to swagger around and brag, so he did. It was exhausting to say the least, so he hid in his lab as much as he could. 

They still had to fight rime a lot, and it cost a great sum to keep everything a float but really, what did it matter. The next Stark Phone© brought everything in again anyway.  
Sure, a thank you would have been nice, but he didn’t expect it or anything. 

Thor came back a few months later with the news that his brother actually had been mind controlled as well and would be housing on earth in the near future because he wasn’t wanted on Asgard.  
That was fine, at least he would occasionally maybe see that hottie around. It was true, Loki wasn’t too hard on the eyes. He could see himself going out with somebody like that. But the judgement of his fellows kept him away. He found it especially hypocritical of Clint to not understand why Loki got away unscathed, seeing as he himself had no repercussion either but maybe that was just how a regular human worked, Tony wouldn’t know. 

Then the gifts started coming in. 

First it was a flower, a peony, it appeared on his desk in the workshop one day but Tony gave it no second thought. He received flowers everyday, maybe Pepper thought this one was especially beautiful, which it was, but it didn’t really matter. 

A few days later he had already forgotten the gift when another one appeared.  
It was a necklace, a norse one by the looks of it. It had a yellow stone in the middle and was all in all truly beautiful. Tony actually wore it a lot on the days after, he still didn’t really know from whom it was but he really didn’t care. It was just stunning. 

He received a few gifts over the next few weeks, everything from a new Led Zeppelin shirt to a dagger that was mildly concerning.  
He appreciated it none the less and so, he was inclined to get o new the anonymous sender. Even though he already had a small suspicion. One that was proven true when JARVIS informed him that Pepper hadn’t brought them up, rather they appeared. He didn’t tell any of his so called team mates about it because frankly there was no reason to, and he really didn’t like most of them. Well except Bruce, his Brucie bear was great. So when he, together with another flower, a blue salvia, received a note telling him to come meet his courter in an apartment near Manhattan, he didn’t even think about it before agreeing. Well, he couldn’t exactly tell his admirer he agreed but he promised himself that he would go. 

The decision on what to wear wasn’t overly hard, he had received a number of items from his admirer, including a bracelet with a green stone so he would be wearing that definitely. Paired with a dark skinny jeans a black blazer and a green shirt an outfit was put together that was casual but not overly so, at least not by his standards. 

The night came and he drove to the place itself, it was a nice building in a good neighborhood.  
He rang the bell and was immediately led up to the apartment. It wasn’t terribly high and had an elevator but Tony was too nervous to really care. It had to be the first time that he genuinely went on a date for years.  
He soon arrived and the door immediately opened, before he could knock. He entered into a medium large apartment with tasteful decor and the scent of self made food in the air.  
He looked around in wonder, in search for the host but he didn’t have to wait long.  
Loki himself came out of the kitchen. Tony had expected it really so he wasn’t overly surprised. 

The greeting was a bit stiff but as soon as they set down to eat, Lasagna, Tony’s favorite dish he noted, the conversation flowed naturally.  
Loki and himself had a lt in common and it was fun for once to have somebody to laugh about his dense teammates with. 

It should have been weird but it really wasn’t and Tony enjoyed the evening more then anything he could remember. Loki was a smooth talker and the mischievous glint in his eyes was mesmerizing.  
After the food was done they wandered over to the couch, and Tony finally asked the question that had bothered him since the start.  
“Why?“ Loki looked at him with more fondness in his eyes than Tony honestly deserved?  
“Why did I court you?“ Loki seemed confused as if he couldn’t phantom why Tony asked such a question. 

“I am the trickster God, the god of lies and as such, I notice when somebodies acts as something that he isn’t. I was interested in you, and after I did some research I decided that you are quite similar to me.“ Loki was forward and honest with his answer, and Tony appreciated it. He couldn’t handle the constant mask quite as well as he had anticipated. It was tiring to always act, and with the avengers in his space he had little to no time away from the act. 

“Tony?“ Loki startled Tony a bit, he had nearly dozed off there.  
“You can drop the mask now.“

So Tony did, all the tenseness of the last few months, years fled out of him as he melts against Lokis steady chest, finally free from the act he put himself under.  
He didn’t have to hold his posture anymore and that was, Tony found, true peace.

**Author's Note:**

> This is it! Did you like it? If so then pls leave comment down below and as I've mentioned before you can send me prompts or overall visit my blog here: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/violettavonviolet  
> the next fanfic comes either on Saturday or Sunday!  
> bye, Vio


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